This booklet introduces the copyright treaties administered by WIPO, identifies some of the potential benefits they offer, and outlines the steps that countries need to take in order to join the international copyright system.

This booklet explains simply and clearly how copyright helps creative people to earn money from their original works. It is designed for people who may already work in the cultural and creative industries, or who may be contemplating a career in them, as well as for individual creators, policy makers, academics, and business support agencies working in the field. It is accessible to non-specialists or newcomers to the subject of copyright and intellectual property rights.

The third ‘International Survey of Text and Image Copyright Levies', jointly published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the International Federation of Reprographic Rights Organizations (IFRRO) builds on and updates the first two surveys published in 2014 and 2015, and analyzes the origins, scope and current use of these levies around the world, and their role in ensuring easy legal access to copyright material. The Survey also shows how and why text and image (TI) levies are different from audio and audio-visual private copying levies. As with the first two surveys, it uses data from IFRRO members, collated and presented by Paul Greenwood, a consultant, with the assistance of representatives of IFRRO members and the IFRRO Secretariat. The methodology and scope are unchanged.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Dutch collecting society for private copying remunerations, Stichting de Thuiskopie, are pleased to present the fourth joint publication on the law and practice of private copying systems around the world. The survey provides a global view of private copying compensation (also known as private copying levies), an important element of copyright and related rights infrastructure. It aims to facilitate evidence-based decision-making and to provide an update on important developments in the private copying law and practice of countries that have such an exception in their legal arsenals.